Swim Sail Cruise – Gulf of Hisaronu

Swim cruise route and places we stop and visit on the Gulf of Hisaronu trip
Marmaris – Bozukkale – Bozburun – Selimiye – Bencik – Sogut – Serce – Marmaris

We begin our voyage in Marmaris and then sail into the Gulf of Hisaronu. On the way, we visit several gorgeous bays, islands and villages including Bozukkale, Söğüt, Bozburun, Selimiye, Hisarönü, Bencik, Serce. After a week of sailing, cruising, swimming and having a wonderful time we return back to Marmaris.

PLACES WE VISIT

Marmaris
Marmaris is one of Turkey´s most popular holiday destination on the Aegean coast. The main industry of Marmaris is tourism and it serves as a gulet cruise gateway. It offers turquoise waters, golden beaches, marinas and numerous other attractions. Nearby popular resorts are Icmeler, Turunc and Dalyan. You can do several boat trips from/to Marmaris. The area has hot and dry summers and mild rainy winters. Showers and rain are very unlikely during May and October season.

Bozukkale Bay
This large bay between Kale Burnu and Değirmen Burnu is surrounded by ancient city walls that blend into the rocky outcrop so sailing into Bozukkale feels like a step back in time. A path leads up to a castle with impressive defensive walls so we can make the hike up before or after our swim in the bay.

Selimiye
Towards the end of Hisaronu gulf on the eastern side is a beautiful bay surrounded by mountains with wonderful clear blue sea and a unique waterfront. Little fishing village of Selimiye is a good place to re-stock with provisions needed for the cruise.

Sogut
It is located east of Bozburun and it is known as home to gulet building and fishing. We usually stay there one night and enjoy the peaceful environment. Swimming there is very sheltered from most winds and we have plenty of choices.

Serce Bay
Serce is a small beautiful bay on the southern side of Hisaronu and if offers wonderful and sea with mountain backdrop all around. There is one family-run restaurant at the end where we can get locally produced products. We usually do a 360 swim around the entire bay which is around 3km.

SWIM SAIL CRUISE ROUTE – GOOGLE MAP

SWIM SAIL CRUISE ROUTE – GRAPHIC MAP

DAY BY DAY ITINERARY

Day 1: We meet in Marmaris harbour at 16.00. Next to the Tourist Information Office (Turizm Danışma) there is a small Anatolia Bar to sit down. Also, the Taxi rank is right at the corner. When everyone is together we board our traditional Turkish gulet and meet the crew. After an initial introduction to your home for the week and having made yourselves comfortable in your rooms, we do a trip briefing followed by our first group dinner on-board. Our boat will depart the harbour and we sleep on the sea in Marmaris Bay overnight.

Day 2: Before breakfast, we usually go for a short acclimatisation swim (300-400m) to test the water and find someone with a similar speed to swim with. We will check that everyone feels happy before then continuing to swim, covering up to 2km+ in total. Following the swim, we can change and then enjoy breakfast.

The boat will then be driven for around 2-3 hours out to Bozukkale Bay, which is where we will spend the rest of today and the night. The bay is not accessible by road but ideal for boats as it is surrounded by hills and sheltered from the wind. It is possible to see Rhodes, Greece across the sea on a clear day. Bozukkale Bay is known for the ancient ruins of a castle that scatter the surrounding hills. We are served lunch on the deck and then can go for a walk to see the ruins and take in the view. We swim 2km in the afternoon in the bay and then have tea. In the evening we have dinner on the boat. There is little light pollution here, so we can see the stars at night.

Day 3: The next morning we will do another swim in the bay, often on the other side. We find it very peaceful to swim in the morning before breakfast as the sea is quiet and often there are no other people. We have a good breakfast and then set off to our next destination of Bozburun. Bozburun is a quaint village that we enjoy to visit and is about 2 hours away by boat. It is a great place to go off the boat to stretch our legs and explore.

We return to the boat by 13:00 to have lunch on-board and then rest time. For the afternoon swim, we anchor off an island of Kizil near to Bozburun and swim along the shoreline. We have dinner and sleep overnight in this same place.

Day 4: This day we will swim on the other side of the island and try to increase the swim distance. The swim is around 2.4km depending on where we start from and takes us along the rocky coastline. Often there are a few sailing boats and yachts anchored where we will swim, so it is interesting to see them and swim by. Very often we see turtles in this area as the seabed is shallow. At one point we film your stroke to analyse one evening, so this can be a good time at the end of this swim. We have breakfast and then set off for the next stop of Kuzbuk Bay which is another very beautiful area.

On the hill, there is one small house that overlooks the stunning landscape. We do a swim here which can involve a 400m crossing and then coastal swim back to the boat. Look forward to another special evening where we dine on deck and relax.

Day 5: In the morning we will take you out to swim from the other side, starting 2.5km away and swimming back around a dramatic bay with high cliffs all around. Look forward to breakfast to renew your energy, then we will go to another village called Selimiye where we will go onto land and explore for an hour or so.

We will go back to the gulet for lunch and then relocate for the afternoon swim. Often we go to another island in the Bay of Hisaronu which has the ruins of a small Christian church on it. We will swim past and also be able to see a tree that has many rags hanging from it, tied by people who wanted to make a wish or seek blessing. We will move the boat again and cruise back towards Selimiye for a sheltered place overnight for dinner and sleeping.

Day 6: This morning we will do an island hopping swim, where we aim to connect 3 islands, each crossing is around 800m. Including swimming along the length of the first island, the total distance is approximately 3km. This is a great swim and it feels satisfying at the end to look back and see the total distance you swam.

We will start the journey back towards Marmaris today and take breakfast as we cruise and enjoy the views. Serçe bay is an idyllic place for us to stop and spend the rest of the day and night. The afternoon swim (360 loop) around the bay is almost 3km and then we will enjoy a well deserved evening meal under the stars. This bay is well protected from the wind and often a great place to try snorkelling, kayaking or stand up paddleboarding.

Day 7: This morning we swim from outside the bay and bay in along the rocky cliffs in the crystal clear Mediterranean sea. We aim to swim for about 2.5km but it can depend on where the boat is anchored. After the swim and breakfast, we steadily make our way back towards Marmaris for about 2 hours cruising. We will usually anchor in a position for lunch where we will do the final (afternoon) 2km swim in Turunch bay. This evening we will move the boat further into Marmaris bay so that we are nearby to the town for our departure the next morning. Our final evening is enjoyed sharing stories. We usually share our video and photo material collected during the week.

Day 8: The trip finishes at around 9am in Marmaris harbour. We will have breakfast on the way there before saying goodbye to the crew, Strel guides and fellow swimmers.

TRAVEL NOTE!

Please bear in mind that the trip itinerary is flexible depending on the weather and best swimming and overnight spots, so we may occasionally change days for better enjoyment of the trip.